I have been a shimano guy for a long time. The last years or so shimano has made choices that my land up hurting them in the long run. For that reason I am looking very seriously at Lew reels. I still know that shimano makes a fine product, but that's why we should all love the free enterprise system and the competition that is inherent there in. Many times,if you stumble there is someone waiting in the wings to kick your @ss at take your place.